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Melee Combat
Melee Combat is a fighting style adopted by several characters in the Fairy Tail series. Description Melee combat is a fighting style which, as the name itself suggests, revolves around close-range confrontation, with users assaulting opponents physically. Widespread around Fiore, this form of combat can be employed by normal people and Mages alike. While the latter ones were described by the Vanish Brothers as lacking the ability to fight at close range due to their time being devoted to studying Magic,Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 7, Pages 6-7 some Mages are in fact shown to be fearsome melee fighters, even specializing in such form of combat.Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 1, Pages 55-56 Magic itself can be a valuable asset when engaging foes in close quarters, with many forms of Magic being focused around melee combat. *'Dragon Slayer Magic' provides its users with many melee techniques that utilizes the user's respective element.Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 1, Pages 67-69 *'Giant' enlarges the users' body, making their strikes stronger and granting them a larger striking range.Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 2, Pages 16-19 *'Ice Magic' can be used to enhance strikes with ice.Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 239, Page 20 *'Ice-Make' can be employed to craft melee weapons,Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 39, Page 20 or to freeze foes at close range.Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 15, Pages 19-20 *'Requip' allows its users to store away and equip at will weapons and armors for battle.Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 14, Pages 6-11 *'Sword Magic' grants users a range of empowered melee attacks when employing swords.Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 58, Page 18 *'Urumi' employs retractable flat cables which can be used to assault foes in combat.Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 14, Pages 19-20 *'Take Over' can transform the users' bodies into that of creatures fit for melee combat.Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 48, Page 11 *'Nails Growing', as the name implies, grows the users' nails in mere instants, enhancing their slashing and scratching attacks.Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 277, Page 6-7 When combined with Paralysis Claw: Mega Jellyfish, one touch of these nails can kill a person in few seconds.Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 33, Page 4-5 *'Meteor', a Heavenly Body Magic spell, can increase the power of the users' blows and make them almost unavoidable by propelling their bodies around with Magic energy.Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 96, Pages 10-11 *'Iron Dog' can turn the users' arms into metallic beings, enhancing their punching power.Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 109, Pages 4-5 *'Regulus' can greatly boost the power of unarmed attacks.Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 115, Page 7 *'Lightning Magic' can greatly increase the speed at which users move around,Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 69, Page 12 at the same time granting the unarmed blows they land in melee more force.Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 121, Pages 9-10 *'Slowing Magic' can significantly reduce enemies' speed, allowing the users to strike them in melee undisturbed.Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 134, Pages 10-11 This effect is similar to those of High Speed and Athletic Magic, whose users also employ their superior speed to attack the opponents.Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 105, Page 18-19Fairy Tail Anime: Episode 130 *'Power Perfume', a type of Perfume Magic, greatly increases the size of the users' muscles, giving them an immense amount of strength and thus making them suited for delivering blows in melee.Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 161, Page 14 *'Muscle Speak' can enhance the strength of the users' allies, making them more suited for close-range confrontations.Fairy Tail Manga: Volume 21 Bonus, Guild Cards *'Needle Magic' can cover the users' bodies in spikes, making them deadlier at close range, as well as enlarge them in a similar way to Giant, though on a smaller scale.Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 269, Page 22 *'Palm Magic' focuses the users' Magic Power in the palms of their hands, making their unarmed blows way more damaging. *'Drill 'n Rock' makes the users' limbs spin like drills, augmenting their offensive power in melee and their overall movement speed.Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 293, Pages 7-8 *'Water' allows the user to turn their body into water, granting them the ability to move at great speeds,Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 57, Pages 2-3 and also allows them to envelop certain parts of their body with water, allowing them to greatly enhance their unarmed attacks.Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 229, Page 6 Melee combat can be performed both unarmed, with users assaulting foes with punches, kicks and other moves, and armed, with users wielding weapons of various kinds, and is thus divided in two main classifications: Hand-to-Hand Combat and Armed Combat. Hand-to-Hand Combat Users of Hand-to-Hand Combat engage into melee confrontations employing unarmed moves. A variety of such moves has been shown, with the most recurring ones being different types of punchesFairy Tail Manga: Chapter 3, Page 15 and kicks;Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 3, Page 12 headbutts, elbows,Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 62, Pages 8-10 kneesFairy Tail Manga: Chapter 96, Page 11 and palm strikes are also used to various extent.Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 155, Page 4 The way such form of combat is harnessed varies from user to user: some are shown to employ an aggressive, direct attack style relying on mighty blowsFairy Tail Manga: Chapter 62, Pages 7-10 and body slamsFairy Tail Manga: Chapter 226, Page 15 while others prefer performing more fluent and acrobatic motions to strike opponents.Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 270, Page 20 While most fighters aren't stated to employ any specific fighting style, some named martial arts exist: *'Chop Hanging Palm' (劈掛掌 Hikashō): A martial art which revolves around the use of palm strikes. Users of such art usually assume a typical fighting stance, diagonally stretching their arms upwards and bending their knees, in order to more easily perform these attacks. The only known user of this style is the Quatro Cerberus guild's S-Class Mage Bacchus Groh.Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 278, Page 13 *'Drunk-Chop Hanging Palm' (酔劈掛掌 Sui Hikashō): Bacchus' exclusive version of Chop-Hanging Palm, which he employs after consuming alcohol. Doing this makes the pattern of his strikes unpredictable, at the same time drastically boosting their power. The unarmed prowess, predictably, varies from user to user, with some being more experienced or physically prepared than others. Master Hand-to-Hand Combatants Masters of unarmed combat possess the greatest prowess of all, being capable of easily taking on several opponents at once with ease. Some of them are known to employ hand-to-hand combat as the main element of their fighting style, and can overwhelm foes even if they are armed or larger than the users themselves.Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 6, Page 6 Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatants Expert unarmed combatants possess remarkable prowess in the use of such art, being able to use it to great extent, and to take on more than one opponent at the same time. Some of them, while not employing hand-to-hand combat as the main element of their fighting style, are shown capable of holding their own against masters of such discipline.Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 118, Pages 5-6 Unarmed Techniques Physical Torafuzar hits Gajeel.png|link=Deep Impact|Deep Impact Lucy kick.jpg|link=Lucy Kick|Lucy Kick Under the Moon.png|link=Under Moonlight|Under Moonlight Smiling Smash.png|link=Smiling Smash|Smiling Smash Lucy and Virgo defeat Drake.png|link=Virgo Kick|Virgo Kick Magical Claw.jpg|link=Fire Dragon's Claw|Fire Dragon's Claw Tekken.jpg|link=Fire Dragon's Iron Fist|Fire Dragon's Iron Fist Yokugeki.jpg|link=Fire Dragon's Wing Attack|Fire Dragon's Wing Attack Erigor'sdefeat.jpg|link=Fire Dragon's Sword Horn|Fire Dragon's Sword Horn Kōen.jpg|link=Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame|Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame Enchū.jpg|link=Fire Dragon's Flame Elbow|Fire Dragon's Flame Elbow Fire Dragon's Crushing Fang.png|link=Fire Dragon's Crushing Fang|Fire Dragon's Crushing Fang Karyuu Ken.jpg|link=Crimson Lotus: Fire Dragon's Fist|Crimson Lotus: Fire Dragon's Fist Natsu defeats Laxus.jpg|link=Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade|Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade Phoenis Blade.png|link=Crimson Lotus: Phoenix Blade|Crimson Lotus: Phoenix Blade Natsu's Dazzling Flame of Dragon God.jpg|link=Dragon God's Brilliant Flame|Dragon God's Brilliant Flame Lightning Fire Dragon's Fist.jpg|link=Lightning Fire Dragon's Fist|Lightning Fire Dragon's Fist Lightning Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame.jpg|link=Lightning Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame|Lightning Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame Crimson Lotus - Exploding Lightning Blade.png|link=Crimson Lotus: Exploding Lightning Blade|Crimson Lotus: Exploding Lightning Blade Secret Attack Lucy Fire.JPG|link=Secret Attack: Lucy Fire|Secret Attack: Lucy Fire Iron Dragon Club.jpg|link=Iron Dragon's Club|Iron Dragon's Club Iron Dragon Sword.jpg|link=Iron Dragon's Sword|Iron Dragon's Sword Iron Dragon's Hard Fist.jpg|link=Iron Dragon's Hard Fist|Iron Dragon's Hard Fist Iron Dragon Ougi.jpg|link=Karma Demon: Iron God Sword|Karma Demon: Iron God Sword Iron Spiral.jpg|link=Karma Demon: Iron Spiral|Karma Demon: Iron Spiral Falcon Heaven Soar.jpg|link=Falcon Heavenward|Falcon Heavenward Regulus-Impact.jpg|link=Regulus Impact|Regulus Impact Regulus Gatling Impact.png|link=Regulus Gatling Impact|Regulus Gatling Impact Regulus Lucy Kick.png‎|link=Regulus Lucy Kick|Regulus Lucy Kick Loke hits Happy.png|link=Hammer of Darkness|Hammer of Darkness Sanction of Darkness.png|link=Sanction of Darkness|Sanction of Darkness Exploding Flame Blade of Darkness.png|link=Exploding Flame Blade of Darkness|Exploding Flame Blade of Darkness Mirajane using Evil Spark on Freed.jpg|link=Evil Spark|Evil Spark Darkness Flare Bomb.jpg|link=Darkness Flare Bomb|Darkness Flare Bomb Racer attacks with Motor.jpg|link=Motor|Motor Empyrian.JPG|link=Crushing Evil, Spreading the Truth: Empyrean|Crushing Evil, Spreading the Truth: Empyrean Laxus defeats Tempester.png|link=Lightning Dragon's Jaw|Lightning Dragon's Jaw Sky Dragon's Crushing Fang.png|link=Sky Dragon's Crushing Fang|Sky Dragon's Crushing Fang Sky Dragon's Taloons.png|link=Sky Dragon's Claw|Sky Dragon's Claw Cobra Swipes at Natsu.png|link=Poison Dragon's Crushing Fang|Poison Dragon's Crushing Fang (Unnamed) spiral jawn.jpg|link=Poison Dragon's Spiral Jaw|Poison Dragon's Spiral Jaw Cobra grabs Natsu.png|link=Poison Dragon's Grip Strike|Poison Dragon's Grip Strike (Unnamed) Cobra attacks Rocky.png|link=Poison Dragon's Sharp Horn|Poison Dragon's Sharp Horn Armed Combat Armed combat, as the name itself suggests, revolves around the usage of weapons, which users employ against their opponents at close range. A variety of melee tools is commonly utilized throughout Fiore, with swords, coming in different shape and size (among which are longswords, sabersFairy Tail Manga: Chapter 14, Page 6 and rapiers),Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 106, Cover being the most common ones, and with other weapons being daggers,Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 16, Page 19 spears,Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 1, Page 74 staves,Fairy Tail Anime: Episode 139 axes,Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 3, Page 9 whips,Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 8, Pages 17-19 scythes,Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 10, Page 20 guan dao,Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 223, Page 16 war hammers and kanabō.Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 254, Page 9 Even curious tools such as oversized frying pansFairy Tail Manga: Chapter 7, Page 3 and elongated nailsFairy Tail Manga: Chapter 33, Pages 4-5 have been shown to be employed as weapons. Due to swords being the most popular weapons, Swordsmanship is a known discipline, with swordsmen found throughout the Kingdom possessing various levels of mastery. Most forms of swordplay, similar to most forms of unarmed combat, aren't properly classified as specific fighting styles. However, so far, one named art of the sword has been revealed: *'Style of the Undrawn Long Sword' (抜かぬ太刀の型 Nukanu Tachi no Kata): A style of swordsmanship involving the use of a sheathed blade. While technically not exposing the weapon's blade, users of this style have been shown capable of slicing foes as if they were wielding an unsheathed sword. The stances assumed in the performance of this form are vaguely reminiscent of those typical to Iaido, where the swordsmen wields the sheath of their sword with one hand, and rests the other on the hilt. Kagura Mikazuchi is currently the only swordswoman shown employing the Style of the Undrawn Long Sword, making use of it with the "Blade of Resentment", Archenemy.Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 280, Pages 14-15 It is unknown as of yet whether the unusual slicing capabilities that this form of combat relies on stems from personal skill or from the weapon employed. Master Swordsmanship Specialists Masters of such art possess impressive swordplay, demonstrating great speed, accuracy and power,Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 201, Page 9 and being capable of fighting several foes at the same time.Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 79, Page 10 Many master swordsmen who are also Mages actively employ Sword Magic.Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 91, Pages 6-9Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 211, Pages 13-15 Expert Swordsmanship Specialists Expert swordsmen possess advanced swordplay, enough for them to hold their own against several opponents,Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 80, Pages 14-15 or to slice things which are usually considered impossible to slash, such as spells.Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 111, Page 10 Master Weapon Specialists This category details Mages who demonstrate great mastery of other weapons besides a sword such as spears, whips, axes, firearms, etc. Expert Weapon Specialists This category details Mages who are able to expertly make use of other weapons besides a sword such as whips, axes, etc. Armed Techniques Physical Heaven and Earth Extinct Slaying Attack.gif|link=Heaven and Earth Extinct Slaying Attack|Heaven and Earth Extinct Slaying Attack Toby attacks Natsu.png|link=Paralysis Claw: Mega Jellyfish|Paralysis Claw: Mega Jellyfish Super Paralysis Claw Mega Mega Jellyfish.png|link=Super Paralysis Claw: Mega Mega Jellyfish|Super Paralysis Claw: Mega Mega Jellyfish Kagura dives in to attack Erza.png|link=Strong Form|Strong Form Slashing Form.png|link=Slashing Form|Slashing Form Hiroshi blocks Gray's attack.png|link=Super Slash|Super Slash Hiroshi's Blade.png|link=Super Stab|Super Stab Magical Seven-Chain Gleaming Sword Dance.png|link=Ice Blade: Seven Slice Dance|Ice Blade: Seven Slice Dance Gray defeats Tempester with his Ice Devil Slayer Magic.png|link=Ice Devil's Zeroth Long Sword|Ice Devil's Zeroth Long Sword Ice Make Sword.JPG|link=Ice-Make: Sword|Ice-Make: Sword Gray's Cold Excalibur.jpg|link=Ice-Make: Cold Excalibur|Ice-Make: Cold Excalibur Gray beats Rufus.png|link=Ice-Make: Ice Bringer|Ice-Make: Ice Bringer Ice Make, Death Scythe.JPG|link=Ice-Make: Death Scythe|Ice-Make: Death Scythe Blumenblatt.jpg|link=Blumenblatt|Blumenblatt Trinity Shot.jpg|link=Trinity Sword|Trinity Sword Photon Slicer.JPG|link=Photon Slicer|Photon Slicer Erza charges with her Aramadura Fairy.JPG|link=Fairy Piercing Sword|Fairy Piercing Sword (Unnamed) Benisakura.PNG|link=Demon Blade Crimson Sakura|Demon Blade Crimson Sakura Erza's Moon Flash.jpg|link=Moon Flash|Moon Flash Pentagram Sword A.jpg|link=Pentagram Sword|Pentagram Sword Sonic Claw.png|link=Sonic Claw|Sonic Claw Yasha Senkuu.jpg|link=Yasha's Empty Flash|Yasha's Empty Flash Garuda En.jpg|link=Garuda Flame|Garuda Flame Echo bite.jpg|link=Narukami|Narukami Tsuranuki.jpg|link=Tsuranuki|Tsuranuki Rampage.png|link=Rampage|Rampage Sandstorm Axe Aldebaran.png|link=Sandstorm Axe Aldebaran|Sandstorm Axe Aldebaran Guillotine Justice.png|link=Guillotine Justice|Guillotine Justice Celestial King's Meteor Blade.png|link=Meteor Blade|Meteor Blade References